Everyone needs Hugs

One of my favorite things about crochet is using it to make gifts of love and support for my friends, family and even folks I’ll never meet.

It doesn’t have to be something fancy to give a “hug” to them. There are many wonderful patterns out there for afghans, lapghans and prayer shawls to make as gifts for someone you care about in your life, or even to organizations that reach out to folks in crisis.

My First Project Linus Blanket

One of my favorite programs is “Project Linus”. This wonderful organization provides blankets to children of all ages that are hospitalized or under-going a crisis. You can learn more about their program and ways you can help them out at their website.

Project Linus blankets don’t have to be crocheted or knit. They can also be quilts or fabric with edging treatments.

This is a simple blanket I made for my oldest son 6 years ago. It’s a wee bit ratty from all the love it has received over the years, but has held up well and is still his favorite to have nearby. I thought, in the spirit of giving and celebration of NatCroMo, I would provide a pattern for this blanket to my dear readers.

Note – Entire blanket is worked holding 2 strands of worsted weight yarn together. This is a child size blanket, but can be made larger by adding to the foundation chain in multiples of 2 and then working additional rows until you are happy with the proportions.

Close up of “Up and Down” stitch used for blanket.

Instructions (written in US Crochet terminology)

Row 1 – Foundation: Chain 85, working in back bumps of chain, sc in 2nd chain from hook, (dc in next ch, sc in next ch) 41 times, dc in last ch, turn.

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in first dc, (dc in next sc, sc in next dc) 41 times, dc in last sc, turn.

Rows 3-62: Repeat Row 2, 60 times. Fasten off.

Edging: Using 2 strands of third color. Attach yarn at any corner, ch 1, (sc, ch 2, sc) in corner st, [*ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next st*, repeat from * to* to next corner, (sc, ch 2, sc) in corner] 3 times, repeat from * to * until reach beginning of round, sl st to first sc of edging and fasten off.

Alternate edging: Sc in every st with same treatment of corners as in first edging. Can do more than one round of edging to create a more substantial border by chaining 1 after the joining sl st, then working a sc in each sc and corner treatment in the corner ch-2 spaces.

I hope you have fun with this little pattern. Make a blanket for someone you love, or better yet, make 2 and send one to your nearest Project Linus chapter for a child that needs a hug.

Yes, fabric blankets definitely are accepted. Project Linus even has a nifty rotary cutting blade that creates evenly spaced holes that you can then crochet into. The blade works with most rotary cutters, which are a lot easier on the hands than scissors. Check out their website for more info on where to get the blades. I think they are called “skip cutters” but not 100% sure on that.